Review: Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine (6 trays)

Boasting a price that’s hard to beat and performance that exceeds expectations, the Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine (6 trays) is an all-around overachiever. This compact and sleek food dehydrator has a powerful and silent motor, large capacity, and fully adjustable digital controls. As a result, this unit is versatile and offers consistently good performance. Whether you’re drying veggies or fruits, this food dehydrator won’t disappoint.

If you want a reliable food dehydrator at an affordable price, the Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine (6 trays) fits the bill. The innovative design of this shelf-style food dehydrator ensures that all of the food in it is dried fast and evenly. Further, it gives you access to the Club Chefman, that means you have tons of recipes and tutorials at your fingertips. Thus, this food dehydrator is ideal for beginners, and the impressive performance guarantees satisfaction for the more demanding users. Of course, the Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine (6 trays) is not a perfect fit for everyone. Read on to find out about its best and worst features before you decide if this is the right food dehydrator for you!

Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine (6 trays) Key Features

• Silent 480 watts motor
• Adjustable digital thermostat
• Built-in timer
• 6 spacious BPA-free trays
• Transparent door

This food dehydrator boasts an energy-efficient 480 watts motor that powers a silent fan which is mounted at the bottom of the unit. Owing to this innovative approach to air circulation, Chefman manages to achieve an even drying process throughout all of its 6 trays. The trays, which are also BPA-free, slide out and offer circa 6.5 square feet of drying space. That’s quite impressive for such a compact dehydrator! The shelf-like design of the Chefman Food Dehydrator ensures that this unit fits comfortably on the countertop.

The Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine (6 Trays) also has a built-in digital timer and digital thermostat. The timer can be set for up to 19.5 hours in advance, and the temperature can be adjusted from 95° F to 158° F. As this ensures precision and a wide range of dehydrating settings, you won’t ever have to worry that the food is too fine or too thick and juicy to be dried in this impressive appliance.

Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine (6 trays) Pros

• Easy to use digital controls
• Powerful performance
• Good capacity
• Clear transparent window for easy monitoring
• Automatic shutoff
• Dishwasher safe trays
• Free access to Club Chefman (recipes and video tutorials)
• cETL approved with advanced safety technology for long lasting durability

The Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine is a great option for drying beginners but it also has a lot to offer to a seasoned pro. The capacity of the trays is more than enough for one family’s needs and will allow you to prepare large batches of dehydrated food at once. Perfect if you like to prep or if you want to make supplies for a camping trip in one go. This unit is easy to use, mostly due to intuitive digital controls, but the free access to Club Chefman also helps. In addition to the instructional booklet, the community of Chefman’s dehydrators will make sure you get to enjoy fantastic recipes and video tutorials that will make you a pro in no time.

One of the many great features of this unit that other food dehydrators in the same price range lack is the digital timer. Not only does having a timer help you ensure great precision for the drying process, but it’s also important for safety. When the timer is up, the device shuts off automatically. This minimizes the possibility of any accidents or the chance of food burning. In addition, it’s clear transparent window makes it easy to monitor the process—just to be sure, or simply to enjoy the joy of food preparation.

Once you finish with the drying, you’ll be happy to realize that the Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine (6 trays) is also easy to clean. The 13” x 12” trays are dishwasher safe, but if that’s not the approach you like taking to clean-up, simply soak them in warm water and dish soap.

Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine (6 trays) Cons

• Possibility of smell contamination
• Botton mounted fan
• No free extras such as fruit leather sheets
• Temperature goes up to 158°—not ideal for making jerky

In most classic food dehydrators, such as the NESCO FD-80A or the NESCO FD-1018A Gardenmaster Dehydrator, the trays are stacked on top of each other as they have a vertical flow design. This makes it hard for scents to get mixed between trays and will allow you to dry different food groups at the same time without worrying about cross-contamination. Of course, that’s not to say that all shelf-style food dehydrators experience this flaw, but you want to be careful about it. Though we did not find this to be a major issue—simply don’t mix foods with overpowering scents in one batch. Another not-so-major issue is the bottom mounted fan. The placement of this silent fan makes it vulnerable to drippings and cleaning that can be considered a downside.

Additionally, there won’t be any extras included in this machine, that you’d normally see with some competitor models in the slightly higher price range—such as fruit leather sheets. However, the biggest downside of this machine is possibly its temperature range. While Chefman does claim that you can beef jerky in this unit, you will want to be careful. The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline’s recommendation for safely making jerky requires the temperature to be between 160°-165° F. As the Chefman has the highest temperature of 158°, there is a risk of getting food-borne illnesses from bacterial survival during the drying process.

The Verdict

If you are in the market for a powerful food dehydrator that won’t cost you an arm and a leg, you don’t have to go looking far. Chefman Food Dehydrator Machine (6 trays) features innovative design and impressive performance, and all that an affordable price. The silent and energy-saving motor won’t rake up your electric bill and will get your food dried in a matter of hours. For most average users, this compact unit will be a perfect match, but if you plan some heavy-duty use or you’ve got beef jerky on mind, you might be better off with another food dehydrators.